The last time we were in Jamaica I really wanted jerk chicken! Since I am (was) a chef, one of the most important part of my travel experience is to get to eat local food. I especially would love to try food I’ve tried already back home so I can compare to know what really is close to authentic. We met a lady named Mariesha who was nice enough to drive us around and bring us to Duns River Falls. I expressed how much I want to eat something local and begged for it not to be anything touristy. She started with Jamaican beef patties and then a place that makes pudding, which is moist cake that is made in old tire rims on the side of the street. After she picked us back up from the Duns River Falls it was time to go to Scotchies for this Jerk Chicken she insisted was the best on the island. Unfortunately we arrived to late because a big tour bus just wiped them clean out of chicken. Imagine my disappointment because that was the stop I was looking forward to the most!
This trip was our second chance to finally get this Scotchys everyone was talking about. Yes, we made sure to tell this story to our Jamaican friends/acquaintances and they all agree it’s good food. We messaged Mariesha on Facebook and her fiance took us around this time.
Our first stop along the way was a cafe on the side of the road that had beautiful views of the beach on the second story. The next stop was the historic Richmond Hill Inn in Montego Bay. In the 1700’s it was the property of the Dewars family, you know the Scotch whisky. It also hosts several beautiful pieces from the late Barrington Watson, Jamaica’s most renowned artist. We just might have had a destination wedding if I knew about this place sooner!
Before returning to the Port of Falmouth, we finally got to indulge in some authentic jerk chicken and Red Stripe beer at Scotchies. We didn’t stop at just jerk chicken though. There was jerk pork, chicken wings, and some friend bread too. I now get why it’s called Scotchies. It’s because scotch bonnet peppers is what their house sauce is made of. So hot but oh so good.
After tuning down several offers to buy marijuana we made it back to the port with 45 min to spare so we did a little shopping at the wood carving booths. I have to say I am pretty happy with what Rob got me. One wood carving was a large mahi-mahi made out of mahogany and the other was a sweet little palm tree with 2 hearts. He had the gentleman carve our initials in each heart at “Jamaica 2018” at the bottom.
Don’t forget to follow and subscribe. Rob and I go to our next port of call and race sailboats in Mexico!
See you on our next adventure!
For information and places we visited, please see the links below:
Connect with Mariesha – https://www.facebook.com/mariesha.swaby.3
Richmond Hill Inn – www.richmondhillinnja.com
Scotchies – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scotchies/117893628270156/
